By Kiara Lin

Who are the Riverhounds?

The Riverhounds were founded in 1998 by Paul Heasley, a native of Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania. Heasley created the Riverhounds with inspiration from his son, Lucas, who was looking for local soccer role models. In 2004, the Riverhounds were sold to a new owner and ended up landing Highmark Stadium in 2013. They currently also run youth academies in Pittsburgh and Connellsville.

Riverhounds Target Audience

While it is well known that Pittsburgh has a strong sports culture, the Riverhounds are often not what initially comes to mind. The Riverhounds brings a new sport and entertainment field for the city. The city of black & gold will go to extremes to watch the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins; the Riverhounds need a strategy to get their name out there. The target audience could be fans from others sports, or brand new fans within 50 miles of the city. I see the Riverhounds having a fan base from very young children all the way to older adults. A lot of attendees to other local sports games do not even attend for the sake of the game, but enjoy being in a fun atmosphere. I will be discussing strategies and campaign goals to increase ticket sales for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

Enhanced Fan Experience

Creating a fun and lively environment is key to a successful sports arena/field. Highmark Stadium has great views of the city, sits right on the water, and is positioned right next to Pittsburgh’s Station Square. There are many strategies that can be taken to enhance the setting for the Riverhounds. When I attend a sports game I prioritize the convenience of the food and drinks. In surrounding open areas of the stadium they could bring in food trucks or vendors of some of Pittsburgh’s most loved restaurants. This will drive an audience to the stadium and with a reasonably priced ticket will get them through the gates. Taking this even a step further could be to offer a discount on tickets if they purchase food through one of the vendors.

Another strategy that comes to mind is more use of their Mobile app. Allowing food/drink ordering through mobile phones could drive more audience members in since they won’t have to wait in a line. A popular idea for sports engagement is fantasy leagues. Americans wagered nearly $119 billion on sports betting in 2023 (S & P Global). With the engagement of money and fantasy leagues will help increase the ticket sales for the sports betters to see how their players are doing in real time.

Overall, enhancing the fan experience wether that is through the physical atmosphere or through mobile apps will drive up ticket sales. These strategies can also lead to loyal fans.

Pittsburgh’s popular food truck “Pittsburgh Pierogi Truck”

Partnerships

While the Riverhounds could benefit from food partnerships, there are many notable athletes that could help increase ticket sales. Wether they choose a athlete from one of Pittsburgh’s many sports team there will be more attention to the Riverhounds. A great strategy could be to have someone like T.J. Watt make an appearance at one of the games. Making it known that he will be at the game will bring in a large fan base. This is something they could implement every month and invite a new athlete every month. There are also a lot of celebrity Pittsburgh natives that are sports fan. Joe Manganiello has attended multiple Steelers games engaging his fan base and the crowd. Not only do celebrities attend sports games, a lot of them have began to invest in teams/leagues. Tom Brady recently became a part owner of an English soccer club. Thanks to Brady’s notoriety this team has been gaining more attention (Latham).

Social Media Channels

Without a doubt everyone is aware of the power of social media. Digital marketers for sports teams have capitalized on the power at their fingertips. The Riverhounds currently do not have a TikTok page which is crucial for bringing in a new audience. There are over 1 billion monthly TikTok users allowing for videos to reach a large amount of views (Butler). Making social media videos such as “a day in the life of a Riverhounds player”, “player spotlight”, “come with me to a Riverhounds game”, “Q&A with the Riverhounds”, and “Mic’d up” are all great ideas for an engaging social media strategy. Allowing viewers to feel personally connected to some of the players through social media leads to a stronger and larger fan base.

Next Steps

The Riverhounds can start to implement the given strategies to increase ticket sales and can begin by creating a TikTok account. Having a social media manager will be a key step in bringing in more local fans as TikTok allows for a location feature that pushes videos to people in the same area. The social media manager can also track analytics and see what is working best for the accounts using something like Google Analytics. All of the given strategies will allow for a broader and loyal fanbase for the Riverhounds.

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Sources

https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/sports-leisure/celebrity-soccer-investment-1234878822/

https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/american-gaming-association-legal-sports-betting-hits-record-revenue-in-2023-80522087#:~:text=adopting%20the%20practice.-,Americans%20wagered%20a%20record%20%24119.84%20billion%20on%20sports%20betting%20in,jump%20from%20the%20prior%20year.

https://iconsource.com/blog/why-tiktok-is-the-best-nil-sports-marketing-tool/

Digital Strategy for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds